The weatherman says it feels like 103° in Arlington, which by my estimation is really freakin’ hot. Luckily for the players it’s supposed to cool down to 99° by game time. That’s why God made air conditioning.
The Rangers are flying under the radar as one of baseball’s hottest teams (no pun intended), having gone 47-36 since May 1st, good for a .566 winning percentage. The messed-up part is that they’ve gone from 6.5 GB in the division to 11.5 GB because the Angels are just that damn good. It’s the same story, different year with them: They have scored the most runs in baseball by a significant amount. Yet they’ve also allowed the most runs in baseball, again by a significant amount. Luckily Milton Bradley (aka the man with highest OPS in the AL) has been bothered by a quad injury of late. So he may not be his usual self this series.
They love them some Alex Rodriguez in Texas; he should feel right at home with all the boos.
1. Damon, DH
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. A-Rod, 3B
5. Giambi, 1B – sans ‘stache
6. X(BH) Nady, LF
7. Cano, 2B
8. Pudge, C
9. J-Christ, CF
And on the mound, Joba “lower ERA as a starter than as a reliever despite three times as many IP” Chamberlain.
Notes: Melky is “hitting” .229-.278-.287 over his last 76 games, giving him the 4th worst OBP & the worstest SLG in the game over that time … That’s right, I said the worstest … Let’s stop beating around the bush and just say it: Melky Cabrera is the worst every day player in Major League Baseball … On the bright side, X. Nady shared AL Player of the Week honors, he’s been the anti-Melky since the trade …